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THOUGHTS 
And How I Came to Write Them 



THOUGHTS 



AND HOW I CAME TO WRITE THEM 



BY 

LEWIS F. KORNS 




THE CORNHILL COMPANY 
BOSTON 






Copyright, 1920, by 
THE GORNHILL COMPANY 



0)C!.A622440 



JUL 28 1921 



>t/vO / 



^ 



PREFACE 

Covering a period of years, these 
Thoughts were written from day to day 
as circumstances arose to give them 
birth. 



There is delightful companionship in 
healthful thinking. 



CONTENTS 

Character 7 

Childhood 1 1 

Crime 12 

Dress 15 

Economics 16 

Ethics 19 

Fads 2 I 

Friendship 22 

Government 24 

Industrial 26 

Kindness 29 

Observations 31 

Parenthood 44 

Pleasure 45 

Political 46 

Psychological 47 



Contents — Continued 

Religion 52 

Sociological 55 

Traits 62 

Tyranny 65 

Virtue 66 

Vocational 67 

War 73 

Youth 75 



THOUGHTS 
And How I Came to Write Them 



Character 

The greatest architecture is building character. 



No matter what character we have estabHshed 
in the past, our conduct from day to day must just- 
ify the confidence of our friends. 



We stand in admiration and amazement at the 
best in human character and intellect, and in amaze- 
ment alone at the worst in both. 



An absurdity — a high social position with a low 
moral character. 



Beware the man who promises you fair treat- 
y ment for the future while giving you the worst of 
a present deal. 



To find the size of a big man, test him out in some 
small transaction. 



Thoughts 



Wanting some general work done about my yard, 
I went to see a man whom I found surrounded by 
the most impressive evidences of poverty. I de- 
scribed to him the work I wanted done and he pro- 
mised that he would be on hand the next morning. 
There was something in his manner that made me 
suspicious that he did not really want the job. Sure 
enough he did not come and, though being near, 
gave me no word of his failure to fulfill his promise. 
I got this Thought out of it anyway: 

A great many people stay poor because they zvill 
not build up character. 



There are many people whose measure of char- 
acter you cannot take fully until after they are mar- 
ried. 



Money often goes to quarreling relatives; good 
character does not get into the courts for litigation. 



It has been my experience many times that, when 
1 defended myself against the attack of a vicious 
dog, I found myself in a quarrel with its master. 

I gleaned from these experiences this valuable 
item of information : 

Estimate of a man can be ganged greatly by the 
character of his dog. 



Thoughts 
9 



A woman who is better than a man simply because 
her sex imposes penalties for wrong-doing, rarely 
points the way for bettering men. 



Among the hired men we had on the farm, when 
1 was a boy, I noticed that the ones who talked glibly 
and coarsely of women, were often arrant cowards 
when in the presence of the women in our home. 
Subsequent observation has helped to justify this 
statement : 

A man zvJio is over-bold in the presence of a coarse 
zvoman is usually too timid in the presence of a re- 
fined one. 



A bossy man is usually a cringer before what he 
thinks is great power. 



A cartoonist sometimes becomes a character as- 
sassin. 



The man who says all men have their price, by 
:lu 
ness. 



including himself, shows at least the virtue of frank 



People who will do unfair things for you are 
likely to do unfair things against you. 



Thoughts 

10 



Some people have enoug*h passion to be human; 
some have enough to be brutal, and some do not have 
enousfh to be either. 



*fe^ 



Character, like the wireless message, radiates 
in all directions over land and sea, hill and dale, 
mountain and valley — silently — unseen — and makes 
itself manifest beyond the range of sound and 
vision. 



Thoughts 
II 



Childhood 

All the world worships at the shrine of babyhood. 



A woman's whisper and a child's lisp are the far- 
thest carrying sounds in the world. 



It is the fate of sex that denies a man expressions 
of affection for a lovely young lady w^hom as a child 
he was privileged to love. 



While it is criminal to work a child all the time, 
it is likely to become a criminal if it does no work 
at all. 



We are more interested in the painting of a dirty 
( 
It. 



faced child than in that of the angel hovering above 



Thoughts 

12 



c 



rime 



Crime is as much a condition as an intention. 



We are now witnessing a revolution in our atti- 
tude toward crime and its punishment. More and 
more we are realizing that crime is to be dealt with 
in the light of its condition rather than in that of 
its punishment. In the past we were permitting the 
seeds of crime to take root in nearly every industrial 
field and social path. To keep from being over- 
whelmed, we tried to destroy the ripened harvest. 



But now we are seeing to what we grow. We are 
beginning to demand that the child be born right. 
We are watching more its rounded development of 
health, education and morals. We are supplanting 
the saloon with a school, a library, or some useful 
industry. We are hunting the places where disease 
germinates, be it physical, social, or political. The 
penitentiary is being made a place of reformation 
so that its inmates will be, if possible, turned into 
useful members of society. These moves look as 
though we are finding ourselves as we have not 
done in the centuries past. 



Thoughts 
13 



It is vastly better for society to reform a criminal 
than to execute him. 



In dealing with the criminal, it is well to take ac- 
count of what we are doing for society; in fact, the 
primary object is its safety, not the pmiishment of 
the criminal. Reformation is a buffer that helps to 
save society the shock of crime. 



A certain martyrdom is liable to follow the atone- 
ment of blood no matter how culpable the victim 
may be. 



I once saw a young man being tried for a foul 
murder. A dramatic attorney w^as raising the 
audience to a high pitch of excitement. Friends 
were busy with the fainting mother of the victim. 
I glanced at the prisoner to find him the one cool 
and collected person in the room. I was amazed 
and wondered for a moment if it were self-control, 
born of innocence. Then came to me this summing 
of the case which I am sure will be verified by any 
criminal lawyer: 

We have reason to assume at least capability for 
the crime^ zvhen the murder-suspect is the coolest 
person in the court room. 



Thoughts 
14 



Taking foolish chances against danger is taking 
criminal chances. 



A thief is not so hard to deal with as a stingy 
man, as he has fewer points of attack. 



A man who will not talk will bear watching; 
criminals are often strangely silent. 



Most of us can, in a fit of passion, easily commit 
a crime. 



Thoughts 
15 



D 



ress 



There are certain things that even fashion can- 
not justify. 



Your clothes and your language should be equally 
fitting. 



The more some people spend for clothes the more 
they drive away favor. 



Many people are willing to dress well enough 
to be dead beats. 



The last person to adopt a ridiculous fashion 
suffers more derision than the one who first adopted 
it. 



Dress not as well as the rest of your family and 
after a while you will be considered inferior. 



Thoughts 
i6 



.conomics 



The success of the ten cent store, which is one of 
the marvels of the mercantile world, and that of 
one low-priced automobile whose sales far surpass 
that of any one thing in the same time in the history 
of the world, leads me to write: 

Nothing is too cheap that serves its purpose well. 

Our need for a large income depends more upon 
our extravagant tastes than on our real necessities. 

He is fortunate who wants the things he knows 
he can have. 



It is not worth while to own anything you do not 
appreciate. 

There are many things apparently worthless that 
render a great service to humanity. 

We should aim to make use of many seemingly 
bad things rather than to seek their destruction. 



Thoughts 
17 

I was once asked by a friend to make him a loan 
for a project that I feared might not turn out well. 
He was honest and I wanted to favor him. I was 
puzzled for the answer when it flashed across my 
mind that 

It is easier to refuse a friend a loan than to press 
him for payment. 



The hardest bill to collect is one for damages to 
property that has been loaned. 



The foundation of many a man's wealth is selfish- 
ness followed with nersistencv. 



After an eruption of Vesuvius the smoke scarcely 
clears away before the inhabitants push up its sides 
to replant their vineyards. The San Frajncisco 
earthquake might have been followed by a tidal 
wave, one of the most disastrous of modern times, 
but the first thing that followed the quake was a 
rush to rebuild the city. I sum it up thus : 

There is no danger zone surrounding commercial 
possibilities that man will not cross. 



The most wanton torture is that of the rich trying 
to kill time. 



Thoughts 
i8 



One who is not satisfied with a fair price will 
not be satisfied with any kind of price. 



One who gives all he has will be permitted to 
languish in the poorhouse by those to whom he has 



A country that makes a specialty of climate is 
like a man who wears a clean shirt a whole week, 
not much good for anything else. 



Demand without production is helpless; produc- 
tion without demand is useless. 



There can be no general prosperity where labor 
has small reward. 



The idealists give us much on which to feed, but 
if it were not for the utilitarians, they would starve 
us all. 



Thoughts 
19 



Ethics 



People who are continuing to think themselves 
misunderstood are usually asking too much adjust- 
ment in others to their own understanding. 

Drive no stakes of prejudice or hate in the middle 
of the highway. 

There is a wide difference between a consti uc- 
tive critic and a nagging critic. 

One who is severe on wrong-doers may be a 
wrong-doer in the excess of his severity. 

Deal with people not as though they are dishon- 
est, but in a way so that if they turn out to be so, 
you are safe. 

The most charming thing is to win people, never 
forgetting to leave them the better for the winning. 

It is more charitable, and often more in keeping 
with the truth, to term men's faults only differences. 



Thoughts 

20 



As we journey through life let us help others 
on the way. 



Every time you perform a generous act you add 
a star to the banner of your life. 



The deepest measure of a man's character can 
be taken by the regard and protection he gives to 
woman. 



In defending your self-respect never fear to make 
enemies. 



Genuine repentance must bear the seal of a cor- 
rected life. 



Thoughts 

21 



Fads 

Fads are more widely contagious than disease. 



Fads have an affinity for most of the human race, 
whether barbarous or civihzed. 



Men become less superstitious but more prone to 
fads as they become more highly civilized. 



One who changes fads occasionally preserves 
a better poise than he who keeps the same fad all 
his life. 



Thoughts 

22 



Friendship 



A great part of the enjoyment we get in this life 
is sympathy friends give us when we are in distress. 



Friendship cannot long endure where the mind 
is prepared only for flattery. 



Prejudice may be as dangerous as hate unless the 
hate follows friendship. 



We are fortunate if we can speak to our worst 
enemies. 



Business misunderstandings germinate more 
easily in the soil of friendship. 



We sometimes spoil a friend by going into busi- 
ness with him. 



You need to handle your friends with more dip- 
lomacy than you do your enemies. 



Thoughts 
23 



If you wish to test a friend loan him money. 



Sometimes the greater our friendship, the wider 
it opens the door of criticism. 



We cannot stand the criticisms of our friends 
and we have no confidence in those of our enemies. 



Thoughts 

24 



Government 



After the state, the largest community of interest 
that has stood the test of time is that of the family. 

Colonies of a socialistic or communistic character 
have generally been failures. They seem to lack 
the strong cohesive character of the state and many 
of them have tampered with the family relation. 
Destroy the home, that shrine of earthly glory, the 
tie that binds civilization will be broken and man 
will head straight for the jungle. 

Many a man who dissipates half his life, thinks 
he can make a success of the^ other half if he can 
hilt get a change in the system of government. 

When I was a boy on the farm I noticed that the 
hired men we had who dissipated and saved no- 
thing, were, with scarcely an exception, bitterly ar- 
raigning the government and the builders of nearly 
every success in life. As I have surveyed a still 
wider range, I find that the malcontents the world 
over, array themselves against the best govern- 
ments on earth. 



Thoughts 
25 



There are people who object to force inside of 
law, but want it outside of law. 



The final test of civilization of a people is the 
respect they have for law\ 



In the final analysis, law is for the protection of 
man against himself. 



The more ignorant a man is the more he thinks 
he ought to govern someone else. 



Unless governed by the law of good manners, w^e 
can have anarchy in ordinary conversation. 



Representative government can never eliminate 
the stupendous influence one person will some- 
times exercise over the destinies of a nation. 



Great wxalth and great poverty will disintegrate 
a nation in about the same time. 



Thoughts 
26 



Industrial 



In accomplishing big things, we dare not pause to 
observe small niceties. 



Exactness can sometimes make much unreason- 
able trouble. 



Success depends quite as much on our ability to 
see that we are wrong as to see that we are right. 



Greatest achievement is attained under pressure, 
even if the pressure is sometimes by poverty. 



Many a hard mental worker is physically lazy. 

Go among strangers to get a start; among your 
friends their jealousies will sometimes amount to 
more than their support. 

With a definite end in view, it sometimes pays 
to borrow money with which to buy good clothes. 



Thou gh t s 
27 



So iiuich can be gained by taking an intelligent 
advantage of nionientuni. 



When one has a good job he does not appreciate 
he should be put out, but if holding one without 
appreciation, he should get out. 



Idle, waiting hours are often quite as damaging 
to employee as they are to employer. 



Reparation for the thing we failed to do in the 
past, can best be made by doing the thino- rio-ht now. 



Watch carefully for the moment when assistance 
will be regarded as interference. 



Even a good thing will not always sell ; it must 
be the vogue. 



A very poor thing mav be the vogue and sell 
easily. 

^ One always looking for flaws leaves too little 
time for construction. 



Thoughts 
28 



Go where travellers come from to find a pros- 
perous country. 



The way to cure hatred of the rich is to ac- 
cumulate some property yourself. 



Labor is apt to look upon employing capital as an 
inexhaustible bubbling spring. 



Carnegie will get quite as many criticisms for 
the manner of the giving of his fortune as he will 
for the manner of its making. 



T h o u gh t s 
29 



Kind 



ness 



We can lighten our troubles greatly by taking a 
little human interest in those of other people. 

A kind heart is the fountain-head of good 
manners. 



If your heart is filled with human sympathy you 
are sure to have friends. 



Keeping secret innocent confidences is like keep- 
ing bread to spoil when there are hungry people 
about. 



Expressions of affection should not be delayed 
until they must be mingled with funeral tears. 



No person is wholly bad who is kind to any living 
thing. 

We seem to feel keenest the kindness that comes 
from one who is generallv cruel. 



Thoughts 
30 

Walking through the grounds of the University 
of Minnesota one day, I noticed a young lady sit- 
ting on the steps of the dormitory, holding in her 
lap a sadly emaciated cat. The girl students ate 
in this dormitory so she was but a few feet from 
where something might have been obtained for 
this starving cat. There was no question about her 
tenderness toward the suffering animal yet she did 
not secure a few crumbs which she could so easily 
have done. This incident made it easy for me to 
write : 

There is much kindness in the world but not 
enough thoughtful kindness. 



Guard with care lest the bitter fruit of harshness 
develop on the tree of righteousness. 



Our regrets are the least for those past errors 
that were made on the side of kindness. 



Thoughts 
31 



Observations 



We should not expect all the present to be as good 
as the best of the past. 



The knowledge that gauges our limitations is 
often highly valuable. 



Now and then we meet people whose faults are 
an interesting study. 



Try to feel appreciation at the time you are doing 
well. 



We must accept most great people with great 
faults. 



The word perfection is a badly abused term. 



Most people are willing to pay a big price to get 
something for nothing. 



Thoughts 

I was in an electric store one day when a man 
came in to inquire about an electric device that 
fastens about the ankle and is recommended to cure 
disease. The proprietor, more conscientious than 
anxious to make a sale, argued against its efficiency. 
The customer waxed warm in its defence and for 
a full half hour the debate continued. After the 
customer left, I read to my store friend, much to 
his amusement, the following which I had written 
during the stubborn contest: 

The most thankless task is trying to keep pep pie 
from being fooled. 



We sometimes get badly squeezed between truth 
and diplomatic diplomacy. 



Ofttimes in a negative statement we express a 
most positive thought. 



Sometimes our second impression corrects the 
first. 



The most healthful recompense of love is trust. 
Wit can render instant aid or lasting harm. 



Thoughts 
33 



Unclean people often make a great fuss about 
dirt. 



The more you oppose a crank the more he thinks 
he is needed. 



Sometimes an outside view is better than an 
inside view. 



Soap and the locomotive are among the greatest 
evangels of civilization. 



Some people are more tolerant of evil than they 
are of honest mistakes. 



Your seat is not fully paid for at the box office 
if you withhold your enthusiasm from a good actor. 



Those things that appeal to our appetite most 
from youth to old age are either sweet or bitter. 



Try to make up your mind early so you will have 
ample time to change it if necessary. 



Thoughts 
34 

Sometimes in pleasing" ourselves we please others 
most. 



Truth, to my mind, beats fiction for dramatic 
interest. 



A certain United States Senator inspired me to 
write the following, long before the World War 
found a test that greatly embarrassed this country : 

It is not safe to pin your faith to a firebrand. 



The stingy man thinks all other men either stingy 
or wasteful. 



Extravagant people usually have some stingy 
spots. 

A one track mind must expect head-on collisions. 



Some things have no reason for their existence 
except that they are expensive. 



There seemis to be wilder enthusiasm over fakes 
than over square propositions. 



T h o u gh t s 
35 

Some people express displeasure, seeking to 
create the impression that they have known better 
things. 



People who are always talking about their old 
town will praise the new when they return to the 
old. 

When you say of a profile picture that it would 
be better if front view, you unconsciously admit 
that the artist has created an impression of beauty. 



True art consists in the concealment of art. 



Those who will beat us sometimes inspire our 
confidence easiest. 



With the most exalted position there may come 
moments of great humiliation. 



We meet so many people who seem to be both 
smart and ignorant. 



Revolutionizing changes do not always come from 
inner professional circles. 



Thoughts 
36 



Life is so much more to be cherished while the 
sense of humor lasts. 



There is a wide difference between egotism and 
the consciousness of power to accomplish a purpose. 



Unless seasoned with the sense of humor, even 
conscience is unpalatable to the taste. 



Not much of a start has been made by one who 
thinks he has finished his education. 



The very perfection of a thing may sometimes 
be its greatest fault. 



Rather ask enough questions to offend occasion- 
ally than to permit mistakes from asking too few. 



You can make more money out of people by pan- 
dering to their prejudices than by going against 
them. 



It is hard for people who have nothing to do to 
get ready for anything on time. 



Thoughts 

Some years ago when Iowa was dry and Minn- 
esota was wet, a heavily loaded excursion train, 
bound for St. Paul and Minneapolis, was quite un- 
loaded and a mad rush was made for the saloons 
in the first town across the line. 

No art gallery in the world would have unloaded 
a train as did those saloons. It has always been 
a puzzle to me why the desire to get drunk is so 
great, particularly in those who have not acquired 
the liquor disease. I think the following solves 
at least one phase of the problem: 

The easiest zcay for the dullard to get a variation 
of sensibilities is to get drunk. 

Some people judge the value of a picture only by 
knowing the value of the frame. 

Music is the link between earth and heaven. 



A woman sees earth and heaven through the 
affections. 



Inconsistency is the price of genius. 



Attainments are failures that make us less lik- 
able. 



Thoughts 



We sometimes take a livelier interest in the fool- 
ishness of youth than we do in the wisdom of age. 



There is much in architecture that interests, but 
so little that satisfies. 



Throw wide your curtains and let your light shine 
out on the world. 



So many people are afraid that bulldogs and sa- 
loons will get hurt. 



That a stove should have perfect chimney con- 
nections, is a hint to other smokers. 



Truth sometimes seems so hard that the soul cries 
out for the softening influence of a miracle. 



One test of strength is the ability to take defeat 
graciously. 



We must brave much criticism of our own gen- 
eration if we wish the favor of posterity. 



Thoughts 
39 



If we can speak of the departed as though they 
were living, it is justice to them and an inspiration 
to us. 



One who does not have an inquiring mind at 
home will learn little bv travel. 



One day I went to lunch with two gentlemen one 
of whom is very circumspect. I related an incident 
that happened to a neighbor's chickens when we 
threw some black Mexican sweet corn to them which 
they seemed to take for rats. The consternation 
w^iich took place among those chickens was a gem 
for a moving picture. During the recital of this 
incident, my circumspect friend sat austere and un- 
responsive. I was then moved to write: 

Some people^ cannot even fraterni::e with a joke. 



Steps slightly out of time save the bridge. 
Machinerv that runs smooth runs cold. 



Right questions rightly asked are taken as a com- 
pliment. 



Thoughts 
40 

If you do not appreciate what you now have you 
will never appreciate what you will have. 

It is necessary for some people to go away from 
home to see how much they do not like. 

The finer house you build the sharper will be the 
criticism. 

One way to quiet a critic is to give him the job 
he criticizes. 



There are times when it is quite as easy to look 
ahead as it is to look back. 



The desire to have short visits prolonged is a 
strong recommendation for them. 

Sometimes one does not like the right thing if 
it comes suddenly after long experience with the 



Anything too sweet is likely to sour. 

Music serves no other purpose with some people 
than to keep either their feet or their tongues going. 



Thoughts 
41 



When one has an axe in his hand he should ap- 
proach a tree with a prayer on his lips. 



What we do not do for people there can be no 
quarrel about the manner of its doing. 



Those people interest us most who have both 
ideas and ideals. 



Some people have a wa}^ of making their faults 
pleasing, while others have a way of making their 
virtues repulsive. 



When a young man I never had a quarrel with 
any gentleman over the favor of a young lady 
friend. I think I was fortunate in looking upon 
such quarrels as being both disgraceful and foolish. 
It seemed to me to be almost brutal to covet the lady 
who did not want me. If the rival could win her it 
seemed to me most indelicate that I should in any 
way interfere with her wish. 

I recommend the following to my young friends, 
believing it will save many heartaches and violent 
disturbances : 

There can he no place for jealousy if one does not 
want that zvhich he cannot zvin. 



Thoughts 
42 



Either jealousy or a sense of consecration often 
makes suffering wives the severest critics of old 
maids. 



My great mistake is to think my standards should 
always be those of other people. 



If we do not recognize faults in ourselves we are 
dangerous. 



One who, knowing less than I do, can take a 
portion of my knowledge and do more with it than 
I can do with all I have, has a genius that I lack. 



Since the finite mind cannot grasp the scope of 
the Infinite, there will always be problems to solve. 



There is delightful companionship in healthful 
thinking. 



When love thinks it has done enough, decay has 
set in. 



The balance between contentment and ambition 
is delicately poised. 



Thoughts 
43 



Some people have just enough ability to nag at 
progress. 



If you wish to catch the high swinging pendulum, 
do not follow^ it but hurry to the other side, for it 
will come to vou. 



The happiness of those who possess that which 
^^•e wish, should always be a factor in the pursuit of 
the thino' desired. 



The plain clever woman need never envy the 
beautiful woman unless more clever than beautiful. 



A man is likel}- to think he is a charmer in the 
presence of a gracious woman. 



To wnn a woman's highest devotion a man must 
be iust, tender, and a shade imperious. 



Some things are striking and show great strength 
simply because they are inharmonious. 



Thoughts 
44 



Parenthood 

Parenthood is but a shame if the parents do not 
fully discharge their duty in the rearing of their 



children. 



People who have large families are not always 
the kindest to children. 



A man who will desert a wife because she is 
childless would not be reliable if her health were 
undermined with excessive child-bearing. 



The man who ignores the obligation to his off- 
spring, and to the mother, commits a crime next to 
murder. 



Whoever cared for us when we were young and 
helpless, deserves our undying gratitude. 



God made for companionship two masterpieces, 
the human mind and the mother's heart. 



Thoughts 
45 



Pleasure 



Pleasure is the divine seasoning in the diet of Hfe. 

The highway of pleasure is crossed by many 
toll-gates. 

The one who has all kinds of pleasure devices 
has all kinds of troubles. 

If you wish to be fashionable you must deny 
yourself many real comforts. 

Wherever there is pleasure there seems to lurk 
danger. 

Pleasure and pain seem to have been accidentally 
cast in the same mold. 

Pleasure comes to us, not as the main aim in life, 
but as a by-product of worthy deeds. 

One of the greatest pleasures is to have a vision 
and then in after years see it justified. 

One gets small pleasure out of life when his 
criticisms greatly outnumber his enthusiasms. 



Thoughts 

46 



Political 



There is many a powerful force in politics that 
represents but a small vote. 

Certainly the history of the prohibition party 
finds echo in the two following : 

There is many a powerfvil force in politics that 
represefits but a small vote. 

There are many things zvhich mean a great force 
for the future zvhose very presence nozv mean tem- 
porary defeat. 

We are willing to excuse the dog that we think 
is barking for us. 

The question that candidates for office dare not 
mention, is most to be feared. 

We are best pleased with reforms that apply far 
enough away so as not to affect ourselves. 

There is no such thing as wise regulation of a 
generally acknowledged evil; the only wise thing- 
is persistent opposition. 



Thoughts 

47 



Psychological 



A number of people together will sometimes per- 
form an act that the individual would scorn to do. 



If one's enthusiasm is at the right pitch, he can 
have a good time with that which would ordinarily 
be considered torture. 



The fault a man does not realize he has, is usual- 
Iv an extreme one. 



One usually recognizes the least his greatest 
fault. 



It is almost as easy to criticize those who are help- 
ing us as those who are opposing us. 



We feel more hurt to lose on another's judg- 
ment than on our own. 



Fulsome praise is liable to be followed by des- 
tructive criticism. 



Thoughts 
48 



If a woman is weak, she is liable to increase her 
devotion to a strong man in proportion to his abuse. 



One's criticism is often the mirror of his own 
fault. 



The faster we travel the keener we feel the loss 
of a few moments. 



The masses cling together more closely when fol- 
lowing one thing, though false, than they do when 
individually seeking the truth. 



We somehow get money from seemingly impos- 
sible places for the things we want the most, as is 
illustrated in the case of whiskey, tobacco, and mar- 
riage licenses. 



One who thinks he is too proud to fight is dan- 
gerous if driven into a fight. 



Truth, garnished with sarcasm, may be spice or 
gall to the taste. 



Thoughts 
49 

People who live on the car line do the most run- 
ning to catch the car. 

When you inject yourself into the affairs -of 
other people it does not take long for you to think 
you are a partner. 

We can swallow most of the bitter pills of life if 
they are sugar coated. 

Psychology is one of the autocratic rulers in the 
affairs of mankind. 



Many things are serious only in proportion as 
we feel them. 



Ofttimes things are either admired or condemned 
simply because they are old. 

We are usually less charitable of oddities among 
relatives than among strangers. 

Often the one who is practicing an evil seems as 
contented and happy as the one who is opposing it. 

Forbidden minutes are often hours of joy. 



Thoughts 
50 

In some particular thing we are apt to differ most 
strongly with those in whom we have had the most 
confidence. 

We love the calm best after the lashing fury of 
the storm. 

The halo of romance, if it lives a thousand years, 
resolves itself into the nucleus of truth. 



He who would get the greatest enjoyment does 
not want the best first. We read a novel best by 
reading the sequel last. The most interesting lover 
is the one who toys with your suit. 

The mind delights most in being led through a 
mystic maze before reaching the^ open door. 

Many a dormant moral issue is brought to life by 
economic pressure. 

Society is heavily responsible when it permits 
those evils to exist that can be reached by votes. 

Rightly managed, even savagery can be used as 
a patriotic asset. 



Thoughts 
51 

Sentiment, clipped in the 1)]ood of martyrs, writes 
indelibly. 



Loz'e Likes To Pull On The Line 
I have been asked several times what is meant 
by this. If you have ever watched a fisherman with 
a payout reel and a long line, toying with a gamey 
fish, now paying out, now pulling in ; or if you have 
ever noticed a coquettish girl toying with a lover, 
the meaning will be quite plain. 



The stimulation of a fight, and the balm of recon- 
ciliation in after years, will always have a fascina- 
tion for men. 



The evil itself is not always a greater problem 
than that of the people who tolerate it. 



Thoughts 

52 



Religion 



Some people are diplomatically pious. 

The meanest people are those who mix religion 
with their meanness. 

Ofttimes our belief, if in another, we would re- 
gard a superstition. 

Though a man may have no religion of his own, 
in a controversy, he will almost invariably defend 
the religion of his parents. 

Atheism has often been caused by religious 
dogmas, while every step in science broadens our 
vision of a great Creator. 

Ofttimes an infidel is simply one who does not 
believe another's religion. 



Search the by-paths of humanity and you will 
have no trouble finding the main highw^ay that leads 
to the Throne. 



Thoughts 

53 

When religious fervor and passion join forces in a 
man, he is often more dangerous than a wild beast. 

A religious belief can be either an anchor of safe- 
ty or a shoal of prejudice. 

Much that is taken for religion is but the dregs 
of an inflamed imagination. 

Piety, to attain full stature, must be nourished 
on the milk of human kindness. 

Sometimes religious fanaticism will accomplish 
results where sensible philosophy will fail. 

Neither ignorance nor intelligence seem to have 
much effect upon religious belief. 

Beware one who lubricates his conscience wnth 
the oil of religious prejudice. 

A religious fanaticism may work immeasurable 
harm and sometimes great good. 

A skeptic in religion is often a great weather 
prophet. 

One who is excessively pious after being exces- 
sively wicked, will bear watching. 



Thoughts 

54 

Any religion that has a sympathetic human ap- 
plication for the needs of this world, is certain to 
find favor. 

No matter how fallacious a religion may be, its 
destruction never satisfies unless replaced by an- 
other. 

Wickedness sometimes helps to increase the piety 
of certain people. 

Many a person of deep religious fervor falters 
in pushing a high moral purpose. 

An immoral character, glossed with religious pre- 
tension, is like a rotten egg with an Easter coloring. 

Our religion, in its humanitarian application, does 
not rise above our civilization. 

I am quite willing to leave the chapter on reli- 
gion as it stands without comment, further than 
to say that I have tried not to inflict wounds to de- 
nominational beliefs for I believe in the kindest 
tolerance and respect toward every religious con- 
viction. In spite of error and hypocrisy, they are 
all trying to lead the way to better things. 

Living instead of talking our religion zvill save 
us bruises from its many debatable angles. 



Thoughts 
55 



Sociological 



It is not best for two people to try to live together 
who cannot mend the break of a quarrel. 



The bridge of life is built on the scaffold of act- 
ion, but rests finally on the piers of results. 



One who accepts the general ideas of his time 
gets along smoothest, but he does least for progress. 

The main spring of life should be tempered with 
kindness, but not to weakness, for it is worthless 
if men do not feel its power. 

Most people are too slow to believe, but once you 
get them going, they believe too much. 



Frequently the condemned have better manners 
than those who condemn. 



All are great generals who conquer themselves. 



Thoughts 
56 



When the manners are the most agreeable the 
conscience is not always the liveliest. 



Dispensing of charity is among the most diffi- 
cult of tasks. 



With harmony lacking, the worst place you can 
be is among your relatives. 

The single standard is the only way to ballast 
the social ship with an even keel for the voyage of 
life, assailed by the many storms of passion. 



The man who will exonerate the saloon for its 
temptation, is almost certain to be one who will not 
do the same for a woman. 

If you permit a child to shirk a duty, your advice 
to perform that duty is worthless. 



The heaviest tasks are liable to be heaped upon 
the most conscientious member of the family. 



Avoid dropping a lump of disappointment into 
the milk of human kindness. 



Thoughts 
57 

Great mistakes will often remain for long periods 
in the face of high intelligence. 

It is a rare pleasure to know one who is both par- 
ticular and agreeable. 

He is more successful who is always fighting for 
something than one who spends his time fighting 
against things. 

We are sometimes greatly attached to people 
of whom we utter many complaints. 

Some people who are honest on principle do a 
great many dishonest acts through selfish impulses. 

Where the pressure is heavy look out for leaks. 

Sometimes the multitude can be moved to do an 
ungracious act as well as the individual. 

The town bully usually becomes the meekest of 
citizens. 

Most living creatures, if left to reproduce without 
hindrance, will eventually destroy themselves with 
their own excess of numbers. 



Thoughts 
58 



Reform is liable to go to extreme in proportion 
to the depth of the wrong that gave it birth. 

If one is forcefully bad there is in him the soil 
that can nourish the roots of good. 

Sex perversion and religious prejudice have cost 
the world so much. 

There is a wide difference between cleansing im- 
morality, and stirring it only to make a bad smell. 

When we open the window to look into a soul, 
it is pleasing to feel that we may be letting light 
into a chamber that has previously been dark. 

The home fires do not burn well in either crowded 
apartments or in the spacious mansion. 

Many things that are unlady-like for a lady to 
do are ungentlemanly for a gentleman to do. 

When a woman ceases to be trusting she ceases 
to be lovely. 

An old lady, if she has lived right, is a crown on 
the brow of girlhood. 



Thoughts 
59 

A man's affections are likely to be reached 
through his passions ; a woman's passions are more 
than likely to be reached through her affections. 

To keep a woman in the harbor of safety, pro- 
tected from the buffeting storms of the sea, she 
must be anchored to a man, to a home, to children 
and to religion. 

We can place milestones on the highway of our 
life if we pause occasionally to take an inventory 
of our self. 

We will become dyspeptic if we diet on past re- 
grets. 

The application of polygamy in the Mormon re- 
ligion, and many other things of like character, in- 
spired this: 

Mefi quickly find a theory that adapts itself to 
their desires. 

We are thankful for what we get in proportion 
to the denials we have experienced. 

About the time we have subdued the fires of youth 
that threaten to consume us, we find ourselves bat- 
tling with the infirmities of age. 



Thoughts 
60 



In the following I have been held to account for 
offering a challenge: 

It is the blackness of a man's heart that prevents 
him from treating a negro zvhite. 

For my answer I simply offer these two thoughts : 
Onr superiority can be proven only by being just 

and kind to onr fellow man. 

They who zvould keep other people dozvn are not 

coming up ve^ry fast themselves. 

At one time I was a land examiner for a loan 
company in South Dakota. One cold windy day I 
drove across a farm to the rear of the barnyard 
where a girl, not over twelve years of age, was 
plowing. Stubble and weeds had choked her plow, 
throwing it out of the ground. The girl was not 
strong enough to pull the plow back to its place in 
the furrow. She wore a raincoat inside which the 
w^ind had gathered, puffing it out like a balloon. The 
poor child was looking toward the house crying and 
did not notice my approach. Though benumbed 
by the cold so she could scarcely speak, her grati- 
tude was evident when I tied my team and hers to 
the fence and took her to the house where I found 
the mother so engrossed with hard work that she 
had forgotten that suffering child in the field. The 
farm was a fine one and showed thrift. 



Thoughts 
6i 



The memory of that farm tragedy, what I know 
of sweat shops in the great cities, and what I know 
as one of the factors of the World War, have given 
me inspiration to write : 

There is no efficiency that can compensate if it 
takes the sou! out of life. 



No man will continue to act contrary to the shape 
of his head. 



Many of the great reforms of society do not 
come from the upper levels, but from the upheavals 
of the lower strata. 



The reason why the Indian has a better social 
standing than the negro is because he scalped our 
ancestors instead of permitting them to make a 
slave of him. 



Thoughts 
62 



Traits 



Some people are so constituted that they get most 
of their pleasures out of trouble. 

Some people in trying to do big things do a great 
many small things. 

Some people have a philosophy of indifference 
that permits them to be happy regardless of the suf- 
fering of others. 

Some people exert an influence in the world large- 
ly through their ability to make others angry. 

One usually recognizes the least his most promi- 
nent characteristic. 

Some people are always busy without getting to 
the main point. 

Now and then we find a person who is so loyal 
to his friends that he will do most any kind of a 
dishonorable act for them. 



Thoughts 
^3 



People who have done mean things together are 
pretty sure, sooner or later, to say mean thmgs of 
each other. 



Many a person with high sense of honor will, 
through sheer stubbonness, often subvert the truth. 



Some people would rather be robbed by a flatterer 
than be favored by a critic. 

We part with our money most freely to those 
w^ho are making lots of it. 



Many a person who will not lead the way will 
tramp on your heels if he walks behind you. 



Men's acts are quite as often governed by their 
temperaments as by their judgments. 

Some people are governed more by what they dis- 
like than by what they like. 

Some men are masculine only; they are rugged, 
and sometimes grand in their ruggedness, but they 
lack fine lines. 



Thoughts 
64 



There is many an ''old maid" who is married. 

Affection with some women amounts ahiiost to 
disease. 



Some women are feminine only; they are deli- 
cate, lace-like, but they are feathers on the highway 
of life. 



A woman thinks smoking a masculine trait and 
she will excuse anything she thinks masculine in a 
man. 



While a woman is losing confidence in one man 
she usually is reposing it in another. 



Thoughts 
65 



Tyranny 



The last to repent and reform himself is the 
tyrant. 

A tyrant has the least respect for one whom he 
can conquer. 

There is no tyranny so dangerous as ignorance 
clothed with sudden power. 

A man who will take abuse from a superior will 
give it to an inferior. 

The extent one will encroach on the rights of 
another depends much on the weight of his wagon. 

The more obsequious a man is to one person the 
more tyrannical he will be to another. 

He who always plays for power will often stand 
on the neck of one person to reach his arms around 
the neck of another. 

Some people try to appear big by trying to make 
someone else look little. 



Thoughts 
66 



Virtue 



It is surprising how quickly a bad man will find 
a bad woman. 

One way to teach virtue to girls is to teach it to 
boys. 

The libertine has to look back only over fields 
strewn with the ashes of burned virtue. 

Sometimes severity manifests the truest and 
kindest heart; compare the surgeon with his knife 
and the betrayer with a box of sweets. 

A man with artistic tastes, and no compunction of 
conscience, makes the most dangerous of libertines. 

In testing the virtue of a girl a man usually makes 
a bad test of himself. 

Some people have an idea that virtue exists only 
where the blood is cold. 

There will always be a crop of girls to be taught, 
that as soon as a man ceases to treat them with 
honor they should cease to treat him with affection. 



Thoughts 
67 



Vocational 



Except in rare instances, and for brief periods 
of time, the best recreation is work. 



There are people who wiU endure almost any 
humiliation rather than work. 



The man who gives small reward for a small 
salary will do the same for a large salary. 



A young man is not fitted for life's battle until 
he has met and survived defeat. 



One who works hard without good management 
gets a worse deal than the lazy man. 



If you keep too busy to look at time you will not 
know that it is passing. 



It is not best to try to get a living out of the things 
you want to play with. 



Thoughts 
68 



One day I was watching a traveling man, nicely 
dressed, talking pleasantly to a storekeeper. It all 
looked so nice and easy, and had I never been on the 
road myself (trying) to sell goods, I might never 
have thought of this: 

Many an occupation that seems playful is in real- 
ity serious business. 

The efforts of a boy to avoid labor often sum up 
more than the original task. 

The more some people work the more disorder 
they put into things. 

The only time some people hustle is when they 
realize that they are doing a wrong. 

Our ability to accomplish results depends most 
largely on our enthusiasm. 

Statistics show overwhelmingly that the farm is 
the great training school for the best in life. There 
must be some outstanding fact or facts that pro- 
duce this result. Plain, wholesome food, outdoor 
exercise, and good sleep, make robust health, the 
first requisite for the work of life. His surround- 
ings are more nearly nature's own. He has to 
work steadily from morning to night at tasks, whe- 
ther pleasing to him or not, and in this he gets the 
greatest industrial asset vouchsafed to one in life. 



Thoughts 
69 



One morning I arose before daylight to do my 
chores so that I might begin husking corn at the 
first light of the sun. I found my brother bent over 
his books, preparing himself to be a teacher. I do 
not know what time he left his cozy bed, but I do 
know that this was no task to one who would soon 
have to go out at the first flicker of the light, and 
with frosting fingers, husk corn all day. The tasks 
that came in after years to make a highly success- 
ful lawyer, were easy enough for this corn-husking 
student. 



When one swims in the foam, he is liable at last 
to settle in the dregs. The farm boy travels with 
his feet upon the ground. The more normal sur- 
roundings build in him an enthusiasm that serves 
as tonic in all his enterprises in life. 



There is soinething about the fwnn that preeiu- 
inently fits a boy to run successfully the gamut of 
human endeavor. 



When health, enthusiasm, and willingness to 
work are the heritages of the farm, the boy goes 
forth a graduate of the best of preparatory schools. 



Thoughts 
70 



The farm fits a boy for the city but the city does 
not fit a boy for the farm. 



Some years ago I was at Calumet, Michigan, 
where is located one of the great copper mines of 
the world. The ore taken out of that mine assayed 
as high as sixty per cent copper and I saw a train- 
load hauled away to the smelter each thirty min- 
utes. 

Early in the morning I went out among the homes 
of the miners to see how much of that staggering- 
wealth they were getting. The streets were merely 
wide paths with no border of grass. The houses 
were apparently one room affairs, boarded up and 
down, the ends of the boards resting upon the grass- 
less ground. They were un'painted and almost 
black. As they loomed out of the dense fog, they 
presented one of the most sordid sights I ever wit- 
nessed. 

At the time of the strike in 191 3, 1 was discussing 
the affair with a friend. I said I did not believe 
that discoveries of rich ore should fall into the en- 
tire control of a few persons. His reply was that 
if one could not get the full benefit of his oppor- 
tunity that the incentive of the individual would 
be too greatly curbed. It was then that I wrote: 

There is ample room for any man's ge;nius be- 
tween poverty and the general interests of human- 
ity. 



Thoughts 



I am the fortunate possessor of a gymnasium at 
my own home. In the attainment of results for 
health and mental stimulus, expense was not con- 
sidered. I employed the best architect I could get. 
The ventilating and lighting systems are not sur- 
passed by the costliest clubs in the city. A gymnas- 
ium like mine is obtainable by rich and poor and 
highly valuable to each. 

It is my garden. 

We reap a double harvest when zee get recreation 
in some useful occupation. 

You can sometimes fill a position well enough 
to bar promotion. 

Time spent with puzzles comes near being 
w^asted, for even if you work them, you land where 
you started. 

Freak characteristics may become highly valu- 
able if we will only commercialize them. 

When an old man forgets more than a young- 
man, he is not as reliable as the young man. 

One may sometimes be occupying an inferior 
position for other reasons than lack of ability. 



Thoughts 

We have confidence in an old man when holding 
a position, but lack confidence in him when he is 
applying for one. 

Always charge enough for your services so that 
people will have respect for your calling. 



It is necessary to dress well to command a high 
price for professional services. 



Stripped of ideals, mere money making is among 
the coarsest of occupations. 



Thoughts 
1Z 



w 



ar 



Strength, if not used to protect, is but weakness. 



It would be as imprudent for a nation to make it- 
self rich without means of defense as for a bank to 
be without safes or vaults. 



The strongest military nation cannot continue as 
such if it spurns the golden rule, for other nations 
will combine against it. 



The nation having the strongest war footing can 
easily find an excuse for going to war. 



When people are having internal dissension, they 
are glad for an excuse to unite against a foreign 
foe. 



A high birth-rate and the arrogant assumption 
that a so called superior civilization has the right to 
destroy an (presumed) inferior people, is a com- 
bination that is quite certain to make war. 



Thoughts 

74 



I have been criticised for assuming that a high 
birth-rate is a necessary feature tending toward 
war. Perhaps a high birth-rate alone may not be, but 
I am still standing my ground and I assure my 
readers that the combination of a heavy pressure 
of population and of national egoism, are most liable 
to find vent in war. When a nation has a popula- 
tion that is growing beyond its productivity, it is 
best that the rest of the world take heed to arrange 
for expansion before a sense of superiority takes 
hold of its people. A light population with high 
egoism would not be dangerous, but one with both 
would be highly explosive. 



Disaster will follow if any individual, sect, polit- 
ical party, or nation seeks world mastery. 



It is hard to move forward and have peace. 



The history of the human race always has been, 
and most likely always will be, that of evolution 
and revolution. 



Thoughts 

75 



Youth 



Youth has its dreams and its rude awakenings. 

Spirit is often a more potent factor in youth 
than judgment but highly commendable if justi- 
fied in the ripened years. 

Some time in our youth there is liable to come 
to us antagonism to the best that is in our parents. 

There is a time in our youth, and then again in 
our old age, when we are liable to be over-positive. 

That which fires youth generally rings true. 

I have not given a chapter to Love. It may seem 
strange that I should pass this subject, the most 
hallowed of all. My answer is, that I simply stand 
in awe before the word. I have noticed the miser- 
able failure of prize contests for definitions so have 
to ofifer as my excuse: 

Love may he the life of youth and the solaee of 
old age, but it puj:des the ripened years to write 
its definition. 



